Home Zookeeper

We are slowly making progress on moving. We hope to be done by tomorrow. Yesterday while I was packing, Fade strolled into the house and found a nice comfy spot in a box. She fell asleep, and I just didn’t have the heart to wake up. I let her sleep inside.

A few hours later Calisto starts crying at the door. She never cries, so I guess she was missing Fade. I let her in and then Fade woke up. I fed them and they both went back outside.

I hope they adjust well to the new place. We will have to carry them one at a time since we only have one pet carrier. I hope they make it OK away from each other.

We are moving into a new place. Of course, the cats will be moving with us. It will be a different neighborhood, so I’m a little worried as to how the cats will adjust to the new surroundings.

The place will be close to my parents whom have a very territorial cat. If our cats behave the way they do at our current home, then they won’t be more than ten feet away from the front door. We will be moving to the country, so maybe not having such close neighbors will make the cats feel more like roaming. It will be a new environment for them but one I think they will enjoy.

We will see how it goes.

Oh to have all my ducks in a row…

I wouldn’t mind having a couple of ducks. When I was younger, we had chickens, but I always wished we had ducks. Just look how cute they are. I’m not sure how the cats would feel about the ducks and vice versa. Good thing we can visit ducks at the local zoo, so at least I can get to see some every once in a while.

What is it with cats and dirt? Our cats love to roll in the dirt. I guess it helps to keep them cool. It just seems odd since cats are known for being so clean and dirt is so not clean.

Calisto loves to roll in the dirt and the immediately rub against my leg. It’s almost like she is sharing her glorious dirt with me. If there was only a way to tell her I don’t find dirt as wonderful as she does.

Thanks for visiting my submission for Wordless Wednesday. Leave a comment as 451 Press is having a comment contest for the month of August for cash drawings of $300, $200, and $100.

There are plenty of great pet toys on the market today. Our cats have a few pet toys that they seem to like really well. Their favorite has to be this wand that has a bell and a feather at the end of it. They will chase that around for hours. Good pet toys do not necessarily have to come from the store. Here are some good pet toys that you might have around the house.

Stuffed animals. It seems we all have a collection of stuffed animals that we’ve been meaning to go through and downsize. My mother-in-law used to buy cheap second hand stuffed animals for her dog. She would also buy any stuffed animal that had a squeaker or made some noise. The dog really enjoyed those. Most likely dogs will chew the stuffed animals until there is nothing left. So, once a stuffed animal starts losing its stuffing, it’s time to toss it.

Ball of yarn. What kitten doesn’t enjoy a ball of yarn? I think a ball of yarn was the original cat toy and is still a great one today. Cats enjoy batting the ball around. When it starts to unravel, then that just creates even more fun since there is now a string to catch.

Laser pointer. Some cats will also chase the red dot produced by a laser pointer. Our cats don’t fall for it; however, the baby was highly amused by it.

Old toys. Kids can be rough on toys, so when toys break, instead of tossing them, examine to see if it would be something interesting for the pets to play with. I always think of my pets as under 3 year olds. Anything that is a potential chocking hazard for a toddler then I don’t give it to the pets either.

So, pet toys can be found just lying around the house if you just use a little creativity.

Our cat Calisto had kittens back in February. She had some complications with feeding them, so we had to take care of the kittens before they were weaned from their mother. And here I thought that I was done with formula for a while.

Taking care of the kittens was not as demanding as taking care of a newborn baby but still had its similarities times five. Our vet provided us with a kitten bottle and a can of kitten formula. Both of these items I was able to locate at the super discount store in town. It was very hard and challenging to get the kittens to take the bottle. It would take about 15 minutes with each kitten just to get them to take a few drops. So, an hour and a half later you are finally finished. You should try to feed them every two hours, just like a newborn. So, after a brief rest it was time to start the whole process again.

Luckily my niece volunteered to feed the kittens, which was a huge help since my little one was still pretty demanding at the time. She took those kittens everywhere and was very diligent to feed them every few hours. When she would take them out, she brought along a heating pad to keep them warm. She’s going to be such a good Mommy one day.

In the end, we believe the kittens were just too young to be away from their Mom and might have been born early. Sadly none of them survived. I’m still proud of the effort my niece gave to give these kittens a fighting chance.

Today is the day to do something special with your best friend since it’s Best Friend’s Day. Many pet owners feel that their pets are their best friend, so why not do something special today for your loyal friend?

Pets are great as best friends since they are always there for you no matter what. They don’t care if you have money or the latest clothes. They love you unconditionally. Pets don’t hold grudges and are willing to forgive you when you have to discipline them for their own good.

So spend a few extra minutes playing frisbee with your dog or let your cat spend some extra time curled up in your lap. How about buy them a new play toy or a special food treat?

Showing your pets a little extra attention today is a nice way to thank them for always being there for you.

Our cats are now outdoors since we were having a few issues with them inside. It has been really hot these past few weeks, so I know it’s been really uncomfortable for them. Here are a few things I’ve been doing to help them beat the heat.

Fresh water daily. I refill their water bowl at least once a day with cool water. The water can get so hot in 100 degree temperatures so some nice cool refreshing water is very satisfying.

A bowl of milk. I also try to give them a bowl of milk a day as a special treat. Again it’s cold and is bound to feel good on a hot day.

Park the car in the shade. The cats love to sit on the car, so I make sure it is in the shade for the whole day. This way they can lounge on it or under it to escape the blazing sun.

Let them inside for a few hours. I usually let them come indoors during the most hot part of the day to enjoy a few minutes indoors. I usually let them decide if they want to come in or not by leaving the door cracked for a few minutes. Sometimes they decline and would just rather lay right up next to the door to catch that cool draft that escapes under the door.

Give extra attention. I just try to show my cats that they are still part of the family by petting them a little extra. I will also give them extra cat treats to help make this hot August more bearable.

Ailurphile is from two Greek words - ailouros (cat) and philos (lover of), so it’s literally cat lover. So, you can guess that Ailurophile.com is a blog of a cat lover, and you’d be right. At Ailurophile you will find the daily cat musings of one fur family and their adventures outside the realm of their pets as well.

It has a clean look and is full of witty humor. It’s also educational. I didn’t know what aiurolophile meant. I thought it had something to do with audio equipment!

By taking part in a simple survey, you can receive a free can of Mighty Dog Select Menu Seared Filets. I know our animals like variety and what better way to try something new than for free?

The survey is simple and is just a few questions about which pet foods you currently buy. You will also be creating a profile on the website where you can mark your preferences and keep a medical history as well as other information about your pets.

We went to a relatively new friend’s house Sunday to play some games. To see where someone lives for the first time is fun to me since you can get a good sense of who they are by all of their stuff. We had a great time playing games and hope to do it again soon. As we were getting ready to leave, my husband asked the friend to show me his pet.

On a bookshelf was this cage that I had seen at the mall and knew that it usually contained something you didn’t want to get out like a spider or crab. The pet is under a flower pot holder, so the friend opens the top and removes the cover the pet was talking shelter under. Are you ready for this? It was a scorpion. I have never seen one so close and was tempted to take a picture but didn’t really know how it would react to a flash. Even it is in a cage I wasn’t about to take any chances. It was funny because the friend couldn’t put the flower pot lid back into the cage while the scorpion was situated the way it was. He said with that pose the scorpion could sting him so he’ll have to wait for him to move.

I know I would never get a good night’s sleep with a scorpion in the house. Every morning I would just be so thankful that the scorpion was still in its cage.

The oddest pet I’ve ever had is a guinea pig and that isn’t even that odd. What’s the oddest pet you have had or would like to have? I would love an iguana since I think they are cool. Iguanas always seem to be laid back taking it easy. Seems like a great way to go through life.

One of the most harrowing experiences I have had as a pet owner is giving my cats a bath. They do protest. Poor kitties, they sound so pitiful with their sorrowful meows during the whole process. It’s one of those things as pet owners that you just got to do for you pet even though they may hate it.

I have learned a few tricks. First and foremost, I use rubber cleaning gloves. I’ve already had one pair shredded but that is OK since they are $1 for 2 pair. It definitely helps to hold the cats and to keep my hands from being scratched. I also try to be as fast as possible with bathing and have everything within arm’s length. If I let go of the cat, then the bath is definitely over. After the bath, I give the cats a special treat since I usually feel bad about “torturing” them and hope to get back in their good graces as soon as possible.

One product I will use next time is either the cat bath wipes or the waterless cat shampoo and just avoid the water altogether. After a half of dozen baths, the cats still do not like them, so I’m willing to try anything to make the experience more pleasant for both of us.

Here is a heartwarming story of how a dog saved his neighbors. The dog started barking at 3:30am and woke up his owner. The owner went to the window to see what was causing the dog to bark when she noticed a small fire in her neighbor’s garage that was quickly spreading. She alerted another neighbor who went to the house and started beating on the door to wake up the family. 911 was called and firefighters arrived shortly.

The family escaped the blaze and two of their pets survived. One dog was lost to the fire. No serious injuries were reported and apparently the fire started from stored gasoline being too close to a gas pilot light.

Puppies are just so adorable. Here is a picture of our dog when she was a puppy. She is all grown up now but oh how cute she used to be.

It is nice when dogs get out of that puppy stage of chewing on everything. Finally our furniture gets a reprieve and things located on lower shelves are once again safe from the sloppy jaws of our little puppy.

It does make me sad to think she doesn’t look this way anymore and is all grown up. Much like with children, they grow up way too fast!